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Diamond rush in KwaHlathi - 23rd June 2021

KwaHlathi village, several hundred kilometres southeast of South Africa’s capital Johannesburg is being flooded by streams of diamond hunters. These scenes have followed a drover recently unearthing a stash of sparkling rocks.

With unemployment and poverty levels high, prospectors are paying no heed to the government’s cautions regarding the minerals’ potential lack of value.

Mduduzi Maphumulo is buoyed up by his find.

Mduduzi Maphumulo: "I heard that people are digging diamonds here, so I said, you know, let me come and take a try – only to find that I was going to find one. Here's it, I'm holding it, here and it's like a pyramid. As you can see, it's for real. Something real – I just got it here on the floor. I didn't even have to dig that much to get it."

South Africa is famed for its mineral wealth and in particular the Cullinan diamond, currently the piece de resistance of the British crown jewels. The gem, excavated from a position close to the ground’s surface, has inspired surges of diamond hunters on personal quests for similar finds.

Nevertheless, treasure seeker Hlengiwe Mlambo has doubts and urges a note of caution.

Hlengiwe Mlambo: "The, there might be a probability of diamonds, 'cause it's close to a river and we're finding stones like this, but ja. At the moment, I think everyone is finding quartz, because – obviously crystals like this have a certain heat rey, radia to them. So, we don't have a reader – at the moment. So ja, we’re waiting for that and then we’ll know indefinitely."

State authorities quoting coronavirus restrictions have mounted an as yet failed bid to disperse the throng of diggers.

Meanwhile, mineral specialists have been enlisted to formally assess the situation on site.